A WyoVocal petition to implement a true dead week failed last week due to a lack of votes.
Having a “true dead week” would give students one week without class or new material to study before finals week. Charis Holscher, who shared the petition, said this could have improved student performance.
“Students are worried about their finals, but also are given the same amount of homework and are still learning new material up to the last minute,” Holscher said. “When students are trying to study, doing the homework, going to class and going to work, they can’t give their full attention to studying, because the homework is a more immediate need.”
Robert West, ASUW director of institutional development, said the issue could come up again.
“An issue on WyoVocal is closed after 100 days of being on the platform without achieving the set vote threshold, which is currently 400 votes,” West said. “We have no policy or stipulation which says students are unable to do so. In fact, if a student is extremely passionate about a particular issue they have on campus, I would encourage them to place the issues on WyoVocal as many times as needed for the issue to be officially taken up.”
Holscher said she’s disappointed the idea failed to gain traction, but understands not everyone would be immediately sold on the idea.
“I think that it didn’t get enough support for many practical reasons,” Holscher said. “Doing a true dead week would require content to be pushed into one less week, which would prove very difficult, or it would add another week to the semester.”
Another concern could be how students would use that dead week, but Holscher said that would depend entirely on the student.
“If a student is dedicated, they’ll use that ‘off’ week to study, to recall and to understand,” Holscher said. “If a student doesn’t want to use that time wisely, I think that’s their own problem.”
Chelsea Holcomb is about to complete her first year at UW after transferring from Northwest College. She said she is not adamant about having a true dead week herself, but would support the idea for students with more stressful schedules.
“It would be nice to have a dead week,” Holcomb said. “Some people stress more than others.”
Holcomb did not see the petition when it was up on WyoVocal, but said she would support the idea if it were posted again.
West also said even though the issue would not affect him personally, it could still be a good idea.
“I would say from personal experience though, having tests, papers and laboratory finals during the week before finals week has not personally hampered my ability to perform well during finals week,” West said. “On the other hand, just because I haven’t experienced that doesn’t mean it is not a reality for certain students on campus.”
Even if the issue was re-posted on WyoVocal and received enough support to warrant action from ASUW, West said it could be years before a change was made to the academic calendar.
“It most likely would not take effect until a few years from now,” West said. “This fact might not be extremely pleasant for students who believe this to be an issue, but that is the reality of how the academic calendar is formulated, approved and implemented here at the University of Wyoming.”
